The ABC show scored 13 million viewers last night with special guest star Johnny Galecki, returning to “Roseanne.” Galecki is the star of CBS’s “Big Bang Theory,” a ratings colossus.

Second, “Roseanne” beat CBS’s other ratings star “NCIS” by almost two million viewers. For four weeks now, “NCIS” has had to experience defeat at the hands of “Roseanne,” which is not something they’re used to.

Galecki’s episode was actually down in total viewers from last week by 765,000 pairs of eyes. But the overall number is still impressive. And ABC is getting women– they rated a 17 in the key demo. Women are watching and buying.

“Roseanne,” meantime, has left its political bent from the premiere, retreating into more standard fare. Galecki’s episode explained where his character, David, has been — failing at life, having a girlfriend, etc. He won’t be back again this season. If “Big Bang” ever finishes up he could come back for good.

Author

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.